Horseback riding can be a dangerous hobby. One slip and your brain could be splattered over different area codes. No worries though, because scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institute have development a helmet that is said to reduce head and brain trauma due to spills by 40%. The helmet was inspired by nature to create the Multi-directional Impact Protection System or MIPS for short.

Simulating the brain’s own protection system, MIPS is based on a dual-layer structure that releases and compensates the rotation of the brain in the event of sudden impact.  This means you’re less likely to have your head pop off due to an awful bail. Unfortunately for bikers, this helmet only comes in a jockey design, for now.

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Forest fires are morbid scenes. Sure, there are all of those precious woodlands which are destroyed, but more important, our homes and families are at risk. Enter the forest fire prevention robot, designed by Jordan Guelde. Smokey The Bear (or even OLE, the fire fighting beetle bot) ain’t got nothing on this tough mofo.

Using its vast array of hubless motors, and its integrated fuel system, the “Clear Cut” bot clears out vast amounts of foliage in order to control forest fires. No tree, bush, bunny, or deer is safe when this robot is on the prowl. All it understands is forest fire control and tree cutting. It also doesn’t happen to know the difference between people and trees. Muahahaha! (more…)

Evacuations are sometimes mandatory in times when a possible disaster could take many lives. This all sounds well and good, but formulating these evacuation plans are not so simple. How do you organize a mass evacuation of a hospital in which there are many bed ridden patients, some of these patients possibly being cancer victims, burn survivors, amputees, or even midgets?

A new product called the Evacusled, looks more like a product used in a mental institution then as a hospital rescue device, but turns hospital beds into sleds, allowing hospital employees to slide the bed ridden right out their rooms. Evacusled only takes one person to load a patient, compared to older methods which needed upwards of 3-4 per bed. — Andrew Dobrow

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When we saw the Safe Turn wrist blinkers for bicyclists, we thought that the blinking bracelet was a effective way of keeping safe on the road. The Turn Signal Glasses might not be the most practical tool for bikers, but for joggers and cautious jaywalkers, they fit the bill pretty well. (more…)

Back in the days of shop class, we used to have to wear these awful rapist-style safety glasses. You know the ones I mean. An upgrade is long overdue in our opinion. The LED Safety Glasses have a sleek design and a set of LEDs strapped to the side for better vision.

Whether your trying to score with the client of your next plumbing job or just trying to look cool in junior high, the LED Safety Glasses are definitely a step up from the days of horn rimmed safety. Grab a pair for $12.50. — Andrew Dobrow 

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We’re sure you remember your days as a tot, when crossing the street meant a manly woman dressed in crossing guard garb and a suicide run across a yellow ladder pedestrian line. School Zone is a concept crosswalk that hopes to improve on safety and design for both children and drivers.

The School Zone has an elevated platform design which allows drivers to more easily spot children as they cross (hopefully its not some psycho that is TRYING to run down children) while also providing a speed bump-like ascent. Each School Zone has LEDs that correspond to crosswalk signals, informing pedestrians that they only have a certain amount of time to cross, and letting them know when they should wait it out. — Andrew Dobrow

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Wow. If you want to look extremely strange… possibly like a robot, then the Iqua Snake 2 Bluetooth phone is definitely for you. As you can see, it is meant to connect in your car as a way to talk on your cellphone without using your hand to hold your phone against your ear. Please, don’t get us wrong, we have nothing against safety, but there are many far more functional and attractive devices on the market already that do the same job as the Snake. There are speakers on either side of your head when it is connected as shown. That means cellphone talk in stereo! Or not. It is rated as having a battery life of about 8 hours of talk time, which is a solid amount of time. Hopefully it comes with an adapted for your car, or this baby doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of having anyone buy it. For $179, you might save a few lives (although you probably haven’t taken any yet), but there are other options, please look around. — Nik Gomez

Iqua Snake 2 [via CrunchGear]

It’s a problem rampant in every major city of the world: pickpocketing. When it happens to you (if it’s ever happened to you), it makes you feel like the biggest idiot because most of the time, you know when it’s gonna happen. The No Touch Alarm Card takes care of this problem by blasting out an alarm when it’s light sensor is set off. Why? Because in your pocket or purse, there is no light; light is only out in the open, where a pickpocket would move your wallet before stuffing it into their own pocket. The No Touch Alarm is the size of your average credit card, so it won’t become a hassle for you in your wallet.

So maybe walking the streets of a city isn’t your thing, but what about at work. You know that the guy across from you has creeped you out for a while. Why not stick a No Touch Alarm in your desk drawer to let everyone know that he is the one who stole your red stapler last week?

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The combination of innovative technology and household safety is an area that is beginning to grow. Small items are utilizing various parts of our homes to become just a step above what we currently have. The DuPont Screw-In Self-Charging Smoke Alarm utilizes your light socket to do more than your current smoke alarm.

So many of us have the built in smoke alarms. It’s that thing that makes the most annoying sound when you burn the turkey in the oven (not this year at least!), or when it needs its battery replaced. While DuPont’s new smoke alarm won’t do much to solve the first problem, the second is covered. Because it uses your light socket, there is no need for batteries, it just uses the power the lightbulb normally would. Don’t worry, the lightbulb is still taken care of because the smoke detector has a place for you to screw the lightbulb into it. This device is useful and doesn’t get in anyone’s way. Innovative technology in a place that, once it’s done, seems so obvious an idea. Just don’t forget to leave the light switch on. — Nik Gomez

Dupont Self-Charging Smoke Detector [via ShinyShiny]